1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention is related to welding assemblies and methods. More specifically, the subject invention is related to a laser welding assembly and method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Two common welding processes for joining two or more metal components are gas metal arc welding (GMAW) and laser beam welding (LBW). During the GMAW process, a wire electrode is fed into a torch, which melts the wire electrode at the intersection of, for example, two plates. The melted wire subsequently cools to join the two plates. A shielding gas is generally used to protect the welding area from atmospheric gasses which could otherwise compromise the integrity of the weld. Typical electrode wires are of silicon, manganese, titanium or aluminum materials, and typical shielding gases are inert gases, such as argon or helium. GMAW is sufficient for many applications, but generally produces a relatively shallow weld profile, which often must be built up to achieve desired structural characteristics of the weld. GMAW is also limited by the speed at which the wire electrode can be melted to form the weld.
During the LBW process, a laser head produces a continuous or pulsed high power density laser beam to melt the materials being joined. The spot size of the laser beam can be varied by adjusting the power wattage supplied to the laser head or by adjusting the focal point of the laser beam. LBW is advantageous because it can produce a weld with a deep penetration.
The combination of GMAW and LBW is generally referred to as hybrid laser arc welding (HLAW). The HLAW is advantageous since it results in an increase in both weld penetration depth and welding speed when compared to each process alone. Different joint configurations (e.g. lap joint, butt joint, T-joint, corner joint or edge joint) have different optimum orientations of the torch and laser head. Typical HLAW assemblies are setup in a specific joint configuration and can only be adjusted between welding operations with physical/manual effort, thereby limiting the effectiveness and the efficiency of the HLAW process.
There remains a significant and continuing need for an improved welding assembly for welding various joint configurations.